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The midfielder is still suffering from the thigh strain that kept him out of England's recent Euro 2008 qualifiers and Saturday's Premier League game against Everton.

Gary Neville also stayed in Manchester with a similar injury. The United skipper has not played at all this season.

Wayne Rooney has, as expected, been included in the match squad after recovering from a broken metatarsal. It is the first time he has been involved since the opening day.

"I've been dying to play. I wanted to make sure the manager knew I was ready to come back," he said.

"The manager and physios have been a bit cautious and rightly so - it's a long season. Hopefully, I can get a run-out on Wednesday and get back playing.

"I feel I could have played a few weeks ago and I'm a bit disappointed I haven't. But it was probably best in the long run."

Rooney was rushed back from a broken metatarsal at the World Cup last summer, and played well below his best as England crashed out in the quarter-finals.

Alex Chick / Eurosport